Expanding the Rights of Passengers with Disabilities

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, over 60 million Americans live with a disability, including many of our seniors and veterans. When they travel, these passengers deserve a safe and dignified flying experience, but I have heard all too often from constituents living with disabilities that their air travel experience can be anything but safe and dignified. Inaccessible restrooms and aircraft, damage to wheelchairs, or an absence of assistive devices can make air travel unpleasant or even impossible.

I was proud to vote for the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act, which expands the rights of passengers with disabilities and makes important strides for consumer protection and accessibility, including protections for powered wheelchairs, safer handling of assistive devices, new aircraft with accessibility standards, deadlines for DOT to investigate and respond to disability-related complaints, improved accessibility for airline mobile apps, and important updates to emergency medical kits on commercial planes.

Many of these measures are key provisions from the Air Carrier Access Amendments Act, which I have proudly fought to advance since coming to Congress and will continue working to include.

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